


Only If You Want Me To

by orphan_account



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Implied Sexual Content, Jealous Keith, M/M, Original Character(s), POV Third Person Multiple, Pansexual Lance, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-13
Updated: 2016-08-18
Packaged: 2018-08-08 07:09:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7748038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alternatively Titled: Only If You Want Me, Too.</p><p>"Aw, c'mon. Despite what my sharp teeth may say, I don't bite."<br/>"I'm more worried you'll chain me to a tree or something," Lance countered, squinting warily at the alien inside the cell.<br/>"Only if you want me to," Swanky smirked.</p><p>UPDATE: unfortunately I have lost inspiration for this fic, and I'm not very fond of how I've written Keith. But! You're all still free to message me for Lanky headcanons and stuff! <3</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Swanky

**Author's Note:**

> This was all inspired by [this one ask](http://lionbots.tumblr.com/post/148668664443/now-all-i-can-think-of-is-the-ship-name-for) I sent to [y-annah](http://y-annah.tumblr.com) along with their response. ENJOY.

As Swanky stared down the barrel of the blaster gun trained on him, he decided that maybe - just maybe - this wasn't one of his finer moments.

And hey, he was nothing if not sensible. He could admit that trying to steal from the giant, magical, battle-castle-ship thing by himself with only a banged up spacecraft and the clothes on his back wasn't such a smart idea. Couldn't blame a guy for trying though, right? He was desperate for a bit of cash to appease some...fine "gentlemen" that were after him. He figured whatever organization was loaded enough to own a ship like that wouldn't miss however much he took from them. The ship didn't look Galran either, which was always a bonus. No Galra, good thieving prospects, some space mafia - uh, _fine "gentlemen"_ breathing down his neck...really, what was there to lose?

So he'd approached the ship and sent out a communications request. As soon as the communications screen appeared on his interface, he started babbling, acting as distressed as he could.

"Whoa, dude, slow down, what are you saying?"

Swanky paused. Was that...English? One of those Earthian languages? He resisted the urge to smirk. Today truly was his lucky day.

"English? I speak English!"

He watched as the person's eyes widened in surprise.

"You...how do you know English? Who are you?"

"No time! I'm being chased! Help, please!"

Technically it wasn't a lie. He _was_ being chased, it's just that the people chasing him weren't doing so at the very moment. This person didn't need to know that though.

"Chased? By who?"

"Karekians."

"Who?"

"Big? Red? Spiky? Allied with the this little organization called the Galra?"

"Galra!? Shit, hold on," the person turned and spoke to someone off screen. "Princess, we can't just leave him out there."

"Yes we can," a gruffer voice added in. Swanky wondered if this was the princess or not.

"I didn't ask you, Mr. Stab-First-Ask-Questions-Later."

Okay, _not_ the princess then.

"We don't even know this guy! He could be lying."

"So we leave him to the clutches of these Carey-Kins characters? C'mon, Keith!"

"We'll let him onboard," another, higher-pitched voice said. "We just need to keep an eye on him until we're sure he's safe."

'But-"

"Keith, it will be fine," the higher voice reassured. "Pidge, please open bay door 3A-5."

Swanky thanked them all, then ended transmission to pilot his craft towards the ship.

_'Jackpot.'_

 

**\-- V --**

 

Once his craft was docked, Swanky was picked up by some grumpy looking person that he could only assume was Keith. Trailing close behind him was the one he'd seen on screen. He was a taller than the grumpy one - still short by Swanky standards though - and had smooth dark skin. And, the most important part, he seemed more open towards Swanky than the others. That'd make his job easier in the long run. Swanky decided to address him first.

"Thanks again for letting me onboard. You all really saved my ass. The name's Swanky. Feel free to wear it out," he greeted with a smirk.

"Don't mention it, Swanky. Saving people's asses is kinda part of our job description," the taller one greeted back, throwing a pointed stare at the shorter one along with his last statement. "I'm Lance. The edgy one is Keith."

Keith turned away from Lance, and looked at Swanky. The way Keith looked at him made Swanky told him this was one guy who wouldn't let his guard down any time soon. If ever. He decided to keep up the nice act, just to be safe.

"Nice to meet y-"

"We're here to take you to meet the Princess, then escort you to your room. It's late, so mind if we get going?" Keith cut in.

Swanky's first thought was to tell Keith where to shove his attitude...he reminded himself that he had to behave.

"Right. Lead the way."

Without further prompting, Keith turned around and walked out the bay doors and down the hall.

"Sorry about him," Lance said, wrinkling his nose up cutely at Keith's back before turning to Swanky. "Anyways, after you, tall-dark-and-handsome."

Swanky smirked. He was starting to like this Lance guy.

He took note of every twist and turn as they lead him through the halls, already making a plan of escape. Then he saw it. They passed by a room with glass walls - a lab of some sort - filled to the brim with what looked like enough advanced technology to make Zarkon blush. This was it. His golden ticket. If he could make his way back to this room alone and then book it out of here with some of this tech, he could sell it and then fork over the money he owed those Karekians. Then they'd leave him alone and he would once again be a free man.

"Hurry up, Lance." Keith called from where he was ahead of them.

"Chill out, what's the rush?"

Keith wrinkled his nose before walking off again. Swanky thought to himself that Lance's nose wrinkle was much cuter.

"Is he always like that?" Swanky asked Lance quietly.

"Yeah. Keith can be kinda prickly. Like a hedgehog. He's not all bad though. He's got a soft tummy once he opens up."

Swanky couldn't help but notice that Lance spoke with a certain fondness in his voice.

"Oooh, so...you two are like that?"

"Hm? Like what?"

"Y'know. Bed buddies. Bumpin' uglies. Hokey-Pokey partners."

Swanky had to hold back a laugh. Each word he spoke made Lance's face get more and more red. It was comical, really. His head was beginning to resemble a red dwarf.

"What? No! No, no, no. Definitely not. What made you think _that?_ "

"My bad. I thought maybe 'soft tummy' was some weird Earthian euphemism."

"We're teammates. And friends."

"Only friends?" Swanky asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Uh...yeah?"

"Hm, good to know," he said with a wink, very pleased by the new shade of red Lance's cheeks achieved.

"Wha-"

"Hey, Smarmy, stand over here," Keith said, interrupting their moment.

"It's _Swanky_ ," he grumbled while following Keith's instructions. He stepped into the middle of this weird circle formation on the floor, and Keith and Lance flanked him. Suddenly they were surrounded by blue light, and he felt a strange tingling sensation as a beam of light scanned over his body. He panicked for a whole two seconds, and then it was over. An artificial woman's voice rang out in the small chamber.

_"Hold for identity scan. Scan completed. Welcome, Red Paladin; Blue Paladin. New identity detected. Identity logged. Threat level: Minimal. Proceed."_

Paladins? He felt like he'd heard that word before. Recently, too. He filed the thought away to think about it later as the last echoes of the computer's voice faded away. He whistled, impressed.

"Been awhile since I've seen a security system that legit. So if I had been armed, what woulda happened?"

Swanky saw Keith open his mouth to answer before Lance stepped in.

"It's probably best you don't know. C'mon, the princess is up ahead." He and Keith led Swanky up a flight of stairs that stopped just in front of a large set of doors. "Okay, quick tip: not that I think you're much of a threat, but for your own safety it's probably best you make no sudden moves around the princess."

"Hm, why? Are her bodyguards scary?"

"Well, that too, but if the princess gets to you before they do, you could lose an ear."

"An ear? That's a weirdly specific body part."

"He's speaking from personal experience," Keith butted in. Swanky was getting pretty tired of him doing that. "Now if you're done with the small talk, can we get this over with?"

Lance sent Keith a look. They stayed like that, eyes locked, for a moment longer before Lance huffed and grumbled something under his breath. Swanky wondered what a mullet was as Lance pressed his hand to a panel next to the doors and they slowly began to slide open.

Swanky had been expecting a throne room. Instead, he was greeted by something more like a foyer. It was large and circular, with strips of illumination running around the edge of the room and in pathways through the floor. At the other end of the room was a short stairway leading up to a deck of some sort. Just a simple, slightly raised floor, with another large set of doors behind. No, definitely not a throne room. But Swanky would have to be blind to mistake the person at the top of the steps for anything but royalty.

She stood at the top of the stairs, eyes sharp but kind, silver hair cascading down her back. Her clothes almost seemed to glow, but not nearly as much as her smile. Lance and Keith stayed flaking Swanky as he stood at the center of the lower floor. To the princess' left and right stood four others. On one side was an older gentleman with an impressive mustache, and a guy with a metal arm and scar that told Swanky not to get on his bad side. On the other was a big guy who would be intimidating if it wasn't for how...cuddly he looked. His muscles were impressive, but his nose was too cute for Swanky to feel threatened. He looked at the person farther to the side and gulped, immediately avoiding eye contact.

_'Aw man, a kid? Really? Avoid eye contact, Swanky, don't lose your resolve! Don't think of the puppy eyes! Don't!'_

If there was one thing he couldn't handle, it was kids. Well, that was a bit incorrect. He liked kids just fine. Loved them actually. He could never hurt one or be mean to one. Which was where the problem lied if you were planning to do something mean. Like stealing. Plus, he had this weird feeling that the kid was staring at him.

 _'Look at it this way. You're not stealing the_ kid's _stuff. Just some tech that's collecting dust in a random lab on the ship.'_

"Hello," the princess spoke, bringing his attention back to her. "I am Princess Allura of Altea, and these are my Paladins." He noticed everyone stand a bit straighter at that. "Welcome to the Castle of Lions."

Paladins.

Altea.

Lions.

Suddenly, things started clicking together. Whispers at spacial stay-ins. Gossip said at the back of a nunvillary. Rumors at taverns in the backwoods of the cosmos.

_'You've gotta be kiddin' me. This is some fairy tale level bullshit.'_

Swanky quickly pulled himself together. He couldn't let his focus shift now. Whether these guys were heroes of the universe or not, they weren't helping him any if he couldn't earn a few bucks off of them. Sorry, not sorry. It's not like he was close to them or anything. They'd given Zarkon an itch to scratch. So what? He could say the same about himself, but that hardly made him a hero.

"It's an honor, Princess. I've heard a bit about you and your Paladins. If I'd've known who's ship I was boarding, I woulda changed into my fancier sweatpants. Thank you for meeting me like this, and for savin' me," he said, bowing deeply, layering charm into his voice.

"Oh, my, no need for thanks. It's my duty as Princess of Altea to aid those who need it. And I'm glad to help."

"You're the loveliest princess I've met then. And the most beautiful," he replied smoothly. He had time to notice the princess blush slightly and the scar-guy's eyebrows draw together before Lance nearly made him jump out of his skin. Suddenly, he was in Swanky's face, looking frantic.

"Hey, buddy, show some respect! Lay off the sweet talk with the Princess. Your eyes. On me. You hear me!?"

"Lance, you hardly have room to talk given how you spoke to the Princess at first," the kid said.

"Pidge, please stop exposing me to every new person we meet. I'm trying to defend Allura's honor here!"

"Lance, I appreciate the gesture, but..." Allura said, looking like she was 99% done, and would've been 100% done if she didn't have to keep up appearances.

"Et tu, Princess?" Lance asked. Swanky had no idea what that phrase meant, but Lance acted so dramatically hurt he assumed it was something funny.

"Aw, Lance, are you _jealous?_ " Swanky teased.

"Excuse me!?"

"You should've just said so from the beginning! No worries. My eyes. _On you_ ," Swanky said as he leaned closer to Lance.

"What did he say about no sudden moves?" Keith almost growled from behind him.

"Ay, _mierda!_ Keith, put that thing away! Chill _out_ dude, he's not even armed!"

Swanky didn't know what to expect when he turned around to look at Keith. Maybe he would be holding a weapon or something. All he saw was that Keith suddenly had some weird object in his hands. White and red, kinda weirdly shaped. Like he'd broken off a roughly triangular handle to something. It didn't look threatening. Where had it come from anyways?

"Hey, whoa, no fighting, everyone chill out. Take some steps back," the bigger guy that had been standing next to the kid stepped forward, hands raised amicably. "Lance, please stop screaming. Keith, please put your bayard away. And, uh..."

"Swanky."

"Right. Swanky. Sorry about this, we're usually not this much of a mess. Well, maybe 'usually' is a bit generous, really, but I promise it's mainly just these two."

"It's no problem, really. Kinda funny actually. You all seem like good folks."

"Thanks, Swanky. I'm Hunk. Those guys up there are Shiro, Pidge, and Coran," Hunk said, pointing at the others.

"Nice meeting ya, Hunk."

"Hm," he said, seeming distracted. Swanky noticed Hunk had made eye contact with the kid, Pidge. "Listen, Swanky, where did you learn-"

"Everyone," the metal-arm-guy, Shiro, finally spoke. "I know we all have some questions for our guest, but it's late. We all need rest. This can wait until morning."

"Questions?" Swanky said, suddenly feeling nervous. He didn't like questions.

"Nothing to worry about. Just trying to make sure you're safe is all," Shiro said with a smile. Swanky believed him. But he also believed that that wasn't the entire truth.

"Right, right. Thanks."

An awkward silence filled the room, only to be broken by Lance.

"Keith, seriously put the bayard _away_ already, man."

"What? Oh," Keith said, noticing he still had his out and was absent-mindedly shifting it from hand to hand. He looked a bit reluctant, but eventually let it go. Literally. Swanky was expecting it to fall to the ground, but it just disappeared in a few rays of light.

Okay. That was weird. And based on how everyone had reacted to Keith taking it out in the first place, Swanky was about 83% sure it was some sort of weapon. Just what had he gotten himself into? It was times like these where he wished he thought things through a bit more. His roguish and free-spirited personality could be both a blessing and a curse, he supposed.

He was more sure than ever that he needed to make this quick. No more hello's and how-are-you's, no 20 questions, definitely no getting near the kid. Just be relatively friendly and unsuspecting, then grab the tech and get out of here. He'd be gone before they even realized something was amiss...hopefully.

"...nce will lead you to your room."

"Huh?" Swanky asked, suddenly realizing he'd been zoned out. "Sorry, uh, kinda tired. What was that?"

"I was just saying that it's late," Shiro shrugged, "So Lance can lead you to your room."

"Right, right."

"Everyone should go to bed, actually. Pidge, no tinkering. Keith, no training. Bed. Understand?"

"Yes, _dad._ "

"Fine..."

After their less than enthusiastic agreements, Shiro just raised an eyebrow at them. They avoided eye contact. Yep. This guy was definitely the dad character.

Everyone said their goodnights as Swanky stood to the side. Lance walked by him, and motioned for him to follow. They walked in somewhat comfortable silence through the halls for all of thirty seconds before Lance broke it.

"Hey, don't walk too far back."

"Hm?"

"These hallways get kinda confusing after a while, since they all look the same. You could get lost."

"Aw, here I was hoping you just wanted me to walk closer to you."

"Who said I don't?"

"Oh?" Swanky almost purred as he quickened his pace until he was standing next to Lance. "This good?"

He saw Lance's flirtatious facade slip into something more flustered - surprised even - for just a moment before it went back up.

"Dunno. You don't wanna risk getting lost in the depths of the castle, do you?"

"You're right. Sounds dangerous."

"Definitely."

"So," Swanky continued, swaying closer to Lance, letting his hand snake around his hip, "Close enough?"

"...For now."

"You're cute."

" _Cute?_ " Lance asked, sounding a bit put out.

"Yeah. Kinda sweet, actually. In fact, there's this candy they make where I'm from. Your skin reminds me of it. It's the same color."

Swanky couldn't help but feel satisfied when Lance's flirtatious facade fell again, and stayed down this time. His face was red-dwarf scarlet for the second time that day, and Swanky almost felt accomplished. Sure he was still planning to steal from the guy, but Lance was pretty cute. It's not like he was doing this with any hard feelings. Why not have a little fun while he was here?

Well, maybe cute wasn't the right word. He was sharp. From his nose, to his lips, to his jawline. Lanky at first glance, but with broad shoulders that hinted at some muscle underneath that too-big jacket. His eyes were a deep blue that was a bit too pleasing to look at. Then Swanky saw the fingers fidgeting and the blush deepening and those too-pleasing eyes nervously looking up at him.

Nevermind. Cute was definitely the right word.

He didn't realize they had both come to a stop and he'd slowly been leaning closer until Lance's back was against a wall and he had a hand placed next to his head, hedging him in.

"Close enough?" he asked again, voice low.

Lance's only response was a gulp, and to shift his hand on the wall behind him. Suddenly, there was a beep, and a section of the wall next to them opened up. Not a wall. A door.

"Uh...This is your room," he said plainly. "G....goodnight?"

Swanky stared at Lance. Then the doorway. Then Lance again. He suddenly realized Lance wasn't blushing anymore and was, in fact, looking a bit confused and maybe even a bit frantic.

_'Holy shit, I broke him.'_

Swanky no longer had the strength to hold back his laughter.

"Wh...What's so funny!?"

"N-Nothin'! Ahaha! That was _great_. Whew. Right. 'G...goodnight?' Pfff, oh _man_ , that's one for the books," Swanky wheezed, slowly regaining himself as Lance looked like he wanted to be swallowed up by the floor. He backed away from Lance and towards the doorway. "G'night, cutie. See you at whatever time morning is around here."

And with that he left a confused looking Lance outside as the doors slid closed. When he flopped down onto the bed with a smile on his face, he reminded himself not to get too attached. Have fun. Wreck shit. Move on. Those were the words he lived by. He took out a small device from his pocket. A simple time-keeper. Nothing the scanner from earlier would've registered as a weapon. He set the alarm function for 60 clicks from now. He went over the path to the lab again in his head.

 _'Shame, really. He_ is _pretty cute.'_

And then he was out like a light.

 

**\-- V --**

 

Not much later, after the castle was quiet with sleep, Swanky was awake again and moving through the halls. He was already halfway to his destination when he made his first mistake. He probably could've found another way around, but he didn't want to risk getting lost, so he'd cut through some sort of dining area. It was relatively open, and he shouldn't have risked crossing it. A light flickered on when he was halfway across, then there was a shriek.

"AY! JODER! HIJO DE PUTA MA- Wait... _Swanky?_ " Thankfully it was only Lance. A Lance coming down from sudden panic, but still just Lance. He could still salvage this situation. Just don't act suspicious. Easy peasy. "You scared the shit out of me. What are you doing up? And...out of your room?"

Crap.

"Ah, sorry, didn't mean to scare you. I woke up and got hungry. I remembered passing through here and figured food must be nearby."

He breathed a quiet sigh of relief when Lance seemed to relax after hearing his explanation.

"Oh. Yeah, same here," Lance said, walking toward Swanky and trying to act as if his outburst had never happened. "The kitchen's around the corner."

"Cool, cool," Swanky said, having no choice now but to play along and follow Lance. He tried to think of a way to get out of this situation and sneak out again. He didn't want to be on this ship for more than a day or two. The longer he stayed, the more likely they were to suspect him of something.

"We don't really have much variety. Just some...weird goo," Lance explained as he walked, doing that cute nose wrinkle again. "Hunk and Coran usually make it into something more edible. There should be some snacks from yesterday though."

"I dunno, sounds kinda iffy. In case the teeth didn't tip you off, I'm not much of a goo-atarian."

Lance looked at Swanky, eyes flickering to his mouth, then back up again.

"Goo-atarian? Really? I've heard Keith crack better jokes."

"You wound me, Lance."

Lance laughed at that as they entered what Swanky assumed was the kitchen. It was a loud and honest kind of laugh. One that Swanky couldn't help but smile hearing. Lance's eyes flickered to his mouth again. Interesting.

Lance dug around in a cabinet before bringing out a bag of weird green things. They were thin, and dry, and definitely not goo.

"What're those?"

"Hunk figured he could try and make chips with the goo stuff since it's plant based. He spread it into sheets on pans and dried it out. They came out pretty good actually. Taste more like seaweed snacks than chips though," Lance explained, opening the bag and promptly shoving a crispy handful into his mouth.

"What's seaweed?"

"It's this plant that grows in the oceans back on Earth," Lance said, sounding melancholy. He held out the bag and Swanky reached in and grabbed one. He looked at it dubiously for a second before eating it. He was honestly surprised that he liked it, even though it was plant based. It was light, crunchy, and seasoned well. It had this strange almost briny aftertaste to it.

"They're pretty good. Is this what seaweed snacks taste like?"

"Pretty much," Lance said through another mouthful. His eyes flickered down to Swanky's mouth again before looking away.

"If you keep looking at my mouth like that you're gonna give me the wrong idea."

"Wha...?" Lance said, blushing yet again. "I...I wasn't...it's not..."

"Oh? So was it the _right_ idea then?" Swanky teased, leaning over the counter towards Lance.

"No! I mean, not exactly? It's just...weird seeing someone who isn't human speak English."

"Well it's not like I only speak English. I happened to pick it up in my travels is all."

"You speak it really well. I know how hard learning a second language can be."

"You have more than one on Earth?"

"We have hundreds."

"Holy shit. The most I've heard of on one planet is like, twelve."

"If only!" Lance laughed.

"So what other languages do you speak?"

 _"Uno mas. Español,"_ Lance almost purred. Swanky had to admit it sounded more natural tumbling from Lance's lips than English did. "What about you?"

"Where I'm from, we speak Selachian."

"Say something."

And, in retrospect, Swanky would see this is where he made one of his biggest mistakes ever. He could've said something normal. Or funny. But no. See, he wasn't used to anyone other than him speaking or understanding Selachian. He was used to being able to say whatever he wanted in Selachian and not facing any consequences whatsoever. So he decided he should get something off his chest. Simple as that.

_"I feel kinda bad that I'll be robbing you blind soon."_

And he saw it. Lance's eyes went wide. He looked shocked. Then he tensed up, his expression hardening. Swanky didn't know how, but Lance knew what he had said.

Swanky had enough time to think _'Fuck, I really need to think before I do stupid shit like tell the truth'_ and then Lance's hand was glowing. A second later, and there he was, with some sort of blaster pointing in his face, and Lance looking like he was about to cry.

"No sudden moves, asshole."

"Uh, did I say rob? I meant...uh..."

"Save it. Guess you weren't expecting us to have universal translators, huh?"

Welp, that explains it.

"...Is the gun really necessar-"

"Yes."

"Okay then."

"Dammit," Lance cursed, "How come every time a hot alien flirts back with me they're up to something? What're you after? Our lions? The ship? Who do you work for?"

"What? Hey, the Swankster works for no one, got it? I just need some cash and you guys look loaded, so sue me."

"A likely story!"

"Wait...wait, rewind, so you _do_ think I'm hot? Nice," Swanky smirked.

Lance ignored him, but Swanky still got a small surge of satisfaction when he saw a pink tinge on the tips of his ears. It truly was the small things in life. Silver linings and all that.

"Hey, magic castle ship thing? You listening?" Lance called, sounding unsure of himself. "Could you notify the others that we've got a rat on board? Meet in the kitchen, ASAP."

For a second nothing happened. Then the artificial voice from earlier rang out.

_"Request confirmed. Message recorded. Sending to all crew."_

"Uh, thanks," Lance said awkwardly, still keeping his sights on Swanky.

"Okay...So, I know you're mad, but can I have more of those chip things?"

"..."

"Can't blame a guy for trying."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stay tuned for more gay shit B^) Note that character focus will be switching often from now on. Each chapter will be titled with the character the chapter is focused on. Next up is keith, then Lance.
> 
> Lance's Spanish:
> 
> > Ay, mierda! = Oh, shit!  
> > AY! JODER! HIJO DE PUTA MA- = OH, FUCK, SON OF A FUCKING BI-  
> > Uno mas. Español. = One more. Spanish.


	2. Keith

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Most of this is recounting the first chapter but from Keith's POV...but wait...there's MORE.

_‘I like Lance,’_ Keith thought as he lay on the floor of the training deck after a tough sequence, letting the cool metal press against his skin as he tried to catch his breath. _‘I like Lance...as more than a friend or teammate.’_

It was a recent realization of his. He’d thought about it often since it first hit him not long ago. In the months after the team had been reunited, he’d felt himself getting closer and closer to Lance. He hadn’t thought anything of it at the time, since he’d just figured it was them becoming better friends. He wasn’t used to having close friends, so of course he’d get nervous, and embarrassed, and feel all jittery when Lance slung an arm around his shoulders. That’s what he’d thought. 

Then they’d been out on a training mission on some nearby planet at the time, and Lance had started flirting with one of the locals. Typical Lance behavior, which Keith though he’d be used to by now. So of course, he wasn’t prepared for the sudden weight dropping into his gut. The irritation. The jealousy. 

Keith wasn’t stupid. Sure, he was kind of dense sometimes. Like he said, he wasn’t used to having close friends. Social interactions and cues and emotions in general were not his forte. But even he had had crushes before. It had only been a couple of times, but it was enough to be familiar with the feeling. 

Usually, a crush wouldn’t be a problem. Except his circumstances were anything but “usual” right now. He was not in first grade sharing animal crackers with the boy who told him his eyes were pretty. He was not a fresh cadet who had trouble focusing when the senior classmen walked by and the one with the broad shoulders and freckles made eye contact with him. 

He was a Paladin of Voltron with the fate of the universe resting on his shoulders, and his crush was starting to affect that. He couldn’t tell Lance and risk it affecting the team’s balance...literally, given that Lance was the leg. So he bottled it up. He was used to not showing much emotion. He was just that kind of person. He didn’t emote much. But that didn’t mean he didn’t feel the same as every other person could. He could feel jealousy, and heartache, and have a crush, and he was beginning to realize that bottling up these particular feelings was not going to end well for him. 

Cause the thing is, bottling them up didn’t stop them from growing. So the pressure just kept building up inside the bottle. It made him irritable and on edge, scared that he’d let something leak out, sad that he couldn’t just open it up and be done with it. Pressure. Building up. Eventually, he was going to explode. 

He sighed, and got up off the floor, resolved to doing what he did best when he didn’t want to think. 

Fight. 

“Start training level fi-” 

_“Paladins!”_ Coran’s voice suddenly rang out from above. _“Report to the main deck, on the double! I would like to go over results from today’s training on planet Brillt! See you soon!”_

Keith took a deep breath, and looked down at himself. He was drenched in sweat. No time for a shower, but he could at least grab a clean shirt before heading over to the main deck. He deactivated his bayard, and was once again thankful to Pidge for making them portable. He had been getting sick and tired of having to dig out his armor every time he wanted to store the weapon somewhere or retrieve it, especially if he just wanted a quick training session. Then Pidge had made these cool harnesses they could put on their thighs or arms that had the same bayard storage function as their suits did. Pidge’s genius was amazing...if sometimes a bit scary. 

He stopped by his room to put on a clean shirt, and ran a towel through his hair. It would do until he could shower later. Then he was off. When he got to the main deck Coran was already in full Instructor Mode, complete with diagrams and flowcharts being projected in the air. 

“Ah, Keith! There you are. Been training I see! Good! Never forget to get proper rest though, you look like you’ve been trampled by a Dingrok! Which brings me to my next point about dealing with slime-based attacks-” 

Keith stood between Shiro and Lance as Coran rambled on. Allura joined them soon after as well, adding in her own bits of advice and reigning in Coran’s...enthusiasm. They were interrupted when the ship’s voice rang out. 

_“Unknown spacecraft approaching. Craft identification code scanned: CC-9534-2Q. Approach halted. Communication request received.”_

“What? A cargo ship? What could they want?” Allura said, looking puzzled. 

“That’s not a Galra ID either,” Coran added in. “They don’t end in letters.” 

“Welp, one way to find out!” Lance said. He was the closest to the main console, so he hopped over to it. 

“Lance,” Shiro reprimanded. 

“What? It’s not Galra, what harm could it do to answer?” 

“Let’s take a look first,” Allura said, waving her hand and calling up a visual of the nearby craft. Keith almost winced at the sorry sight. It was pretty banged up. He wasn’t even sure it was safe for space travel. Or any travel, really. 

“Oh man, wonder how that happened,” Lance mumbled. 

“We should still be careful. It’s not the first time someone’s used something like this as a trick,” Keith said. He and Hunk made eye contact. He could see a good amount of skepticism in Hunk’s eyes as well. Him and Hunk were usually the ones to be devil’s advocates in these sorts of situations. 

“True,” Hunk agreed. “But still, Lance is right. There shouldn’t be any harm in answering.” 

Also true. 

“Can I answer? Please?” Lance asked, looking somewhat like an excited puppy, casting his eyes on Allura. 

“...Alright,” she sighed, giving in. Keith could sympathize. It was hard to say no to Lance’s puppy-eyes. Maybe that was more or a problem from him though… 

“Yes!” Lance said, pumping a fist in the air and promptly pressing the button to answer. 

They were immediately greeted by a frantic barrage of gibberish from what looked like a cross between a human and...a shark? The person’s teeth looked like they could shred through metal, and his skin was a smooth gray. And his eyes. They were kind of like a Galra’s or Balmeran’s in that they were all one solid color. They were blue instead of yellow though. 

He snapped to attention - along with the rest of the team - when the person suddenly started speaking English. That was _definitely_ suspicious. Where in the Universe could he have learned it? Had he been to Earth before? If so, why? Or had he learned it somewhere else? The only other humans wandering the universe - that they knew of - were themselves and...His eyes went wide and he looked at Pidge. She had gone stock still. As Lance talked with the stranger, Keith got more wary. It was all a bit too convenient. What were the chances of one little craft just happening to stumble upon them in the vastness of space? And they knew English. He and Hunk shared another wary glance. 

“Princess, we can’t just leave him out there,” Lance said, eyes pleading. 

“Yes we can,” Keith said. He didn’t mean permanently of course. It was their duty to help others. But he still thought they should exercise more caution. Ask him more questions. 

“I didn’t ask you Mr. Stab-First-Ask-Questions-Later.” 

Keith scowled. Lance was never gonna let that go. It was one time, and the guy had ended up being an enemy after all, so it was _fine._

“We don’t even know this guy! He could be lying.” 

"So we leave him to the clutches of these Carey-Kins characters? C'mon, Keith!" 

His mouth was already open to retort to Lance when Allura spoke up. 

“ We'll let him onboard. We just need to keep an eye on him until we're sure he's safe." 

“But-” 

“Keith, it will be fine,” she reassured him with a smile. Though he was still anxious about it, the princess’ words were final. He nodded, keeping quiet from then on out. She smiled again at him gratefully. “Pidge, please open bay door 3A-5.” 

Pidge nodded and plopped onto the floor, opening up the laptop she had been carrying and typing in some commands. Keith did not want to know when she had gotten access to the Castleship’s main controls on her laptop, or why Allura seemed completely fine with that. 

Lance told the stranger where he could dock his ship and wait for them. He thanked them all, then ended transmission. 

“I want to meet this person and see if I can get a feel for what they want,” Allura said. 

“Princess, I’m not sure if that’s the best idea,” Shiro spoke up. 

“And why not?” she said, crossing her arms. 

Keith saw Shiro open his mouth up to respond, and then close it. They all knew arguing with the princess wouldn’t get them very far. 

“Will you at least meet him after he’s scanned? And keep it short?” 

Allura looked like she wanted to protest. Her and Shiro held a silent exchange, and she ended up sighing in defeat. 

“Yes, of course.” 

“Alright,” Shiro said, sounding more positive. “Keith, Lance, you go greet this person and lead them to the foyer beyond the secondary entrance. We’ll all meet with him there.” 

“Aye, aye, cap’n,” Lance saluted before hitching his arm around Keith’s shoulders and leading him out. “C’mon, let’s go! It’s been awhile since we’ve had a guest on board. This oughta be fun.” 

“It’s not some fieldtrip, Lance, he could be dangerous,” Keith scolded. 

“He did look kinda pointy, didn’t he? It was cool looking though. Did you see his eyes? They were so _blue._ I mean, I love blue eyes, but that’s some next level shit, dude. Do you think they glow?” 

“I...maybe? He looked like a shark. Are there sharks with glowing eyes?” 

“Oh man, he _did_ look pretty sharky, didn’t he? Cool. Those teeth were pretty hot too.” 

“...Could you be serious for more than five second intervals?” 

“I _am_ being serious! Loosen up. We’re just helping him out. Aren’t you the one always lecturing me about our duty to help people?” 

“Hitting on him is not helping him, Lance.” 

“Says you!” 

Keith listened to Lance’s rambling as they walked through the halls. Most of it was funny, but lance kept dropping comments about finding certain features on the stranger attractive. Needless to say, that put a damper on things for him. By the time they reached the small docking bay the stranger had landed in, Keith’s mood wasn’t so great. Plus, he still didn’t trust whoever was on the other side of this door. Lance may be fine with giving people the benefit of the doubt, but Keith wasn’t. Lance pressed his hand to the scanner on the wall and Keith walked through first. The space felt smaller than normal thanks to the craft occupying most of it, and the person standing next to it. 

Holy shit he was _tall_ . 

The stranger smiled at them when they entered. If it was meant to reassure Keith, it didn’t. The jagged teeth just made him more nervous. Lance’s presence next to him made him feel just a bit better. 

“Thanks again for letting me onboard,” the stranger said, speaking while facing Lance, only casting Keith a small sideways glance. “You all really saved my ass. The name's Swanky. Feel free to wear it out.” 

That didn’t sit well with Keith from the get go. Not that his words were suspicious or anything, but that sort of line was something he’d heard Lance say as a pick-up line. He was used to it from Lance. Not so much from some random alien talking to Lance. 

"Don't mention it, Swanky. Saving people's asses is kinda part of our job description," Lance said, giving Keith an annoyed look. Keith grumbled under his breath. You protest a couple of times and suddenly you’re the bad guy. "I'm Lance. The edgy one is Keith." 

Keith’s eye twitched at the familiar jab. “Edgy”? He was not “edgy”...probably. 

He looked at Swanky, sizing him up. He looked pretty threatening appearance-wise, but looks weren’t everything. His build was sleek, and Keith wasn’t sure if it was muscles or just how his race was built. He decided to assume he had a good amount of strength. There were no visible weapons on him at least, but there may be something hidden on him. Maybe strapped to his leg under the baggy pants… 

He started speaking before Swanky could really get started. He wanted to keep things short. Meet the princess. Get this guy to a room. Go back to training. Hit the hay. And hopefully that was that and this guy really was harmless and just in need of a bit of help and he could be out of here by morning. 

"We're here to take you to meet the Princess, then escort you to your room. It's late, so mind if we get going?" 

He saw something flash in Swanky’s eyes for only a split second. It was enough to fuel Keith’s suspicions, even though his reply was polite enough. 

"Right. Lead the way." 

Keith nodded, and turned to lead them down the hall. Lance lingered behind with Swanky for the most part. He heard the first Lance-Pick-Up-Line drop and resolved himself to tuning them out for the rest of the walk. He’d managed to keep that gross weight from dropping in his gut so far, he didn’t need it happening now. 

He glanced back and saw that they were lagging behind him quite a ways, so he told Lance to hurry it up. Lance basically told him to cool it. Fine then, he could have it his way and flirt with the damn alien. 

Why were they so far back anyways? They started off walking only a few paces behind Keith. As he kept walking and they stayed back there, it gave him this weird feeling at the back of his head. It wasn’t quite annoyance. More like...paranoia? When he reached their destination, he turned around to see what they were up to, and his jaw almost dropped. 

Lance was blushing. Lance. Albeit he was a relatively easy blusher, but it was odd to see him blushing and Swanky looking so smug. Almost like Swanky had been the one flirting this whole time. Not Lance. Which hadn’t ever really happened before. And there it was. The weight in his gut. It felt heavier than normal, and mixed with a good dose of anxiety given Swanky’s current unknown motivation. Not to mention, Swanky was walking just a bit too close to Lance. Suspicious. 

“Hey, Smarmy, stand over here,” Keith called out. His voice sounded grumpy even to him. He really was trying to relax and keep things professional, but it was getting hard to do. 

“It’s _Swanky,_ ” Keith heard him grumble as he stepped into the scanning circle. 

Whatever. Swanky. Smarmy. It was a weird name regardless. 

The scan’s results were good to hear, at the very least. He wasn’t armed. That was a plus. Not as big of a plus as it would’ve been if Swanky didn’t have razor sharp teeth and spikes and fingers that looked like claws and hands bigger than Keith’s face. But still a plus. 

He heard Swanky’s impressed whistle and turned to him as he spoke. 

"Been awhile since I've seen a security system that legit. So if I had been armed, what woulda happened?" 

Keith was about to explain just what the security system - and himself for that matter - would’ve done to Swanky if he had been armed, but Lance stopped him before he could. 

"Okay, quick tip,” Lance spoke up. “Not that I think you're much of a threat, but for your own safety it's probably best you make no sudden moves around the princess." 

"Hm, why? Are her bodyguards scary?" Swanky asked. 

"Well, that too, but if the princess gets to you before they do, you could lose an ear." 

"An ear? That's a weirdly specific body part." 

"He's speaking from personal experience," Keith interrupted. He was getting tired of Lance dragging this whole affair out. He gave Lance a stern look as he spoke. "Now if you're done with the small talk, can we get this over with?" 

AKA: Knock it off and act serious, Lance. 

“...Fine you grumpy mullet-head,” Lance grumbled at him as he stepped forward and pressed his hand to the access panel next to the doors. 

Once the doors were open, they walked Swanky to the center of the room. He was in an open space, unarmed, with Keith and Lance on either side of him, and with Coran and the other paladins up ahead. If he tried anything funny, Keith would make sure he stopped him. 

Keith watched Swanky’s face for a reaction as Allura introduced herself. Surprise. Panic? Then it was pleasantries from there on out. Had he really not known who they were? If he didn’t, that eased some of Keith’s worries. At least he wasn’t targeting them specifically. That didn’t mean he had good intentions though. 

He kept his guard up throughout Lance’s outburst. He always was a bit touchy when it came to anyone flirting with Allura. Which happened more often than one would think, given her status. 

“Aw, Lance, are you _jealous?”_

Wait. 

What? 

Keith’s eyes went wide as he saw Lance begin to blush again. Swanky leaned in close to him and yeah, that was _definitely_ flirting. The weight in his gut grew heavier, and hot, and he felt jealousy rising in his chest. 

And he was too close to Lance. Too close. 

“What did he say about no sudden moves?” Keith growled. 

Lance looked at Keith, and his eyes went wide. 

"Ay, _mierda!_ Keith, put that thing away! Chill _out_ dude, he's not even armed!" 

He didn’t know what Lance was talking about at first. He followed his line of sight to his hand, and was surprised to see that he’d taken his bayard out without realizing it. It wasn’t activated, but still. It showed a lack of control on Keith’s part that he didn’t appreciate in himself. 

He didn’t put it away yet though. He wouldn’t until Swanky put some space between him and anyone else. 

Hunk stepped in, and Keith eased up a bit. Hunk was dependable and rational in situations like this. 

"Hey, whoa, no fighting, everyone chill out. Take some steps back," he said. Keith was thankful for that, since Swanky backed off a bit. "Lance, please stop screaming. Keith, please put your bayard away. And, uh..." 

“Swanky.” 

"Right. Swanky. Sorry about this, we're usually not this much of a mess. Well, maybe 'usually' is a bit generous, really, but I promise it's mainly just these two." 

"It's no problem, really. Kinda funny actually. You all seem like good folks." 

"Thanks, Swanky. I'm Hunk. Those guys up there are Shiro, Pidge, and Coran." 

"Nice meeting ya, Hunk." 

“Hm,” Hunk said, not looking at Swanky. Keith noticed he was looking at Pidge, who had a strange look on her face. Almost like anticipation. “Listen, Swanky, where did you learn-” 

They all knew what question he was going to ask. 

Where did he learn English. Or, more specifically, who had taught him English. Cause it definitely wasn’t any of them. And if he hadn’t learned from them, and hadn’t learned it on Earth, the only other humans who could’ve possibly taught him were none other than Doctor Holt and his son Matt. Pidge’s family. 

Shiro stepped in. 

"Everyone, I know we all have some questions for our guest, but it's late. We all need rest. This can wait until morning." 

"Questions?" Swanky said, sounding nervous. Keith squinted at him in suspicion. 

"Nothing to worry about.” Shiro reassured. “Just trying to make sure you're safe is all.” 

"Right, right. Thanks." 

Everyone stood there in awkward silence. Shiro cast an apologetic glance at Pidge, who looked downtrodden and antsy. They all knew she wanted to know anything as soon as possible. But now wasn’t the time or place to be prying information from someone they’d just met. They were all tired from their training exercise that morning, and Swanky...well no one knew what to think of him yet. They could always ask him more questions in the morning. 

Suddenly, Lance broke the silence. 

"Keith, seriously put the bayard _away_ already, man." 

"What?” Keith started, looking at his hand. That’s right. He hadn’t put it away yet. “Oh." 

Somewhat reluctantly, he stored it away. 

"Right. We can continue introductions and questions int he morning. Swanky, Lance will lead you to your room." 

"Huh?" Swanky asked, as if coming out of a stupor. "Sorry, uh, kinda tired. What was that?" 

"I was just saying that it's late. So Lance can lead you to your room." 

"Right, right." 

Keith wanted to protest about Lance going alone with the guy, but after how he’d acted he didn’t think he had the right to, really. So he kept quiet. 

"Everyone should go to bed, actually. Pidge, no tinkering. Keith, no training. Bed. Understand?" 

"Yes, _dad,_ " Pidge said, sticking her tongue out at Shiro. 

"Fine..." 

Dammit. No training meant no stress relief. It’d take him forever to fall asleep. Maybe he could sneak out...Shiro raised an accusing eyebrow at them both. 

_‘Bed it is, then.’_

**\-- V --**

“Dammit,” Keith grumbled as he turned over for the umpteenth time that night. He couldn’t sleep and it was all that stupid alien’s fault. Okay, not _all_ his fault, but a large part of it was. Like, five sixths at least. Or something. He had already done a light workout and showered. He was comfortable as could be, physically. He should be out like a light right now. Then he’d remember there was a stranger aboard the ship, and he’d get antsy. And _then_ he’d remember how Swanky had made Lance blush multiple times and he’d just get angry. 

Keith was about to resolve himself to sneaking out to train after all when the ship’s voice suddenly rang out,making him jump and nearly fall out of bed. 

_“Message from the Blue Paladin. Beginning playback”_

Then suddenly it wasn’t a computerized woman’s voice, but Lance’s. 

_“Hey, magic castle ship thing? You listening? Could you notify the others that we’ve got a rat on board? Meet in the kitchen, ASAP._

_End playback.”_

“...I _knew_ it,” he grumbled, grabbing his dagger from next to him on the bed and bolting out the door. 

**\-- V --**

Keith and Shiro were the first to arrive, followed closely by the others. No one questioned why Lance had his blaster out and aimed at Swanky. They all knew Lance wasn’t a fighter. He wouldn’t do this unless he had good reason to. 

“Lance?” Shiro prompted for an explanation. 

“Long story short, he messed up and let it slip that he was planning to rob us blind.” 

“Your version makes me sound like an idiot,” Swanky piped up, not looking very panicked for someone with a gun pointed at him. 

“You _are_ an idiot,” Keith said, stepping forward. “Allura, Coran, do either of you have handcuffs?” 

“I do,” Pidge spoke up from the back of their group, immediately reaching into her laptop bag and pulling some out. She looked up and saw everyone staring at her. “...What?” 

“...Nothing. Just give ‘em here,” Keith said, holding out his hand. She tossed them to him, and he walked over to Swanky, keeping an eye on him in case he made a break for it. Once he was close enough, he brought Swanky’s hands together behind his back and put them on. 

“Hoo, man, these things are cold. Ever thought of getting those furry ones instead?” 

“Jesus,” Lance grumbled, looking like he would bury his face in his hands if he could. Keith wondered how he could blush in a situation like this. Then again, this was Lance. 

“Shut it,” Keith hissed. “You’re lucky handcuffs are all you’re getting.” 

“Fair enough, fair enough.” 

“Lance? Mind explaining?” Shiro said, refocusing them all on the issue. 

“Right. So I got hungry and came out here to have a snack. I bumped into Swanky-” 

“And that didn’t strike you as suspicious?” Keith asked, incredulous. 

“It _was_ suspicious at first, but he said he was hungry too. He didn’t try anything funny after that so I assumed I was just being paranoid. We were...just chilling out,” he saw Shiro raise a judgemental eyebrow. “Really, we were! Just talking. Then we got to the subject of languages. Our friend here didn’t realize we had universal translators. He said in his native language that he was planning to rob us. Since it got translated, I knew. He immediately knew I knew. I knew he knew that I knew-” 

“Lance.” 

“Right, sorry Shiro. So, anyways, before he could try anything I took out my blaster and notified you guys. That’s it, really.” 

“Good job, Lance,” Shiro said, patting his shoulder before walking over to Swanky and holding onto him with his robotic arm. “Princess? What should we do with him.” 

Allura sighed and rubbed her temples. 

“We can’t just let him go. He could be dangerous,” she said, thinking out loud. 

“And we still have questions for him,” Hunk said from where he was standing with a hand on Pidge’s shoulder. Pidge looked up at him gratefully. 

“Yes, of course. More now than ever...” she said. She thought on it a moment longer, then looked at Shiro. “We don’t have cells, really. And we can’t stick him in a restraint pod. Those are for more extreme cases. But, there are rooms in the Castle that serve a similar purpose to cells. They’re like a normal room, but they only have a bed and there’s no access panels on the inside. They’re equipped with security cameras and an alarm system. Their doors are also transparent for monitoring purposes. They’re meant to detain certain people - possible threats - in times of conflict.” 

“You mean political prisoners of war,” Keith said bluntly. 

“Yes. In a sense,” Allura smiled at him tensely. 

“Then stick him in there before he tries anything funny,” Keith said. 

“I think that would be best,” Shiro said. “Princess, everyone, get some sleep. I can handle this. Pidge, could you pull up the rooms on a map for me before you go?” 

“Shiro, are you sure-” 

“It’s fine, Keith. Now go, all of you.” 

His tone didn’t leave much room for argument. Allura and Coran went down the halls to the wing they slept in, leaving Hunk, Pidge, Lance, and Keith to walk together through the halls until they reached a split. Hunk and pidge went one way, Lance and Keith went the other. Things were silent until Lance sighed deeply. 

“Lance? You okay?” 

“What? Yeah, I’m fine. Just...tired…” 

Keith looked at Lance, a million thoughts whirring around in his head. He was worried, and anxious, and relieved all at once. He wanted to ask Lance so many things about what happened, wanted to know every detail. 

He picked the wrong detail to ask about first. 

“...Were you...no, nevermind.” 

“Was I what?” 

“I said nevermind.” 

“Just spit it out.” 

“...Were you really just talking with him?” 

“Yikes. That little faith in me, huh?” 

“That’s not what I meant-” 

“You were right, okay? Happy? I was an idiot _once again_ and if I hadn’t been so adamant about helping him he never would’ve been on the ship. But because of me he was and he would’ve robbed us - or worse! - if he hadn’t just happened to slip up, and _you were right.”_

“Lance, that’s not-” 

“Goodnight, Keith,” Lance said, swiping his hand on his room’s access panel and stepping inside. Keith hadn’t even realized they’d reached their hallway. 

Lance’s door slid shut in his face leaving Keith alone in the halls. 

There was that weight in his gut again. It wasn’t heavy and hot like before thought. It was small, and cold. He stood outside Lance’s door a moment longer, then sighed and walked slowly back to his room. Suddenly, he was very, very tired. 

He fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. 


	3. Lance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for some veeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeery slightly NSFW-ish moments in this. Crude talk is all.

Needless to say, Lance woke up feeling like shit.

Everything else aside, he just hadn't gotten enough sleep. He _always_ made sure to get enough sleep if it was possible to. Sometimes he couldn't of course, since he had duties as a defender of the universe and all, but last night should not have been one of those nights. Far from it! He just wanted a little snack before really hitting the hay. He'd run into Swanky and figured they could chill and maybe make out at _least_ once. But no. He had to turn out to be a thief after their shit. Or worse! There was still a chance of him working for Zarkon...In any case, Lance was sure that this had just been another instance of an enemy latching onto the team's weakest link.

Namely, him.

It'd happened before. And now he'd gone and let it happen again.

He shook the negative thoughts from his head, and gave his cheeks a little slap. Now wasn't the time to be moping around. He couldn't drag himself around the ship in self-pity for all to see. He had a job to do. He groaned in resignation and tore himself out of the comfort of his bed, making his way to the little bathroom attached to his room. He went through his usual morning routine, making sure not to skip anything. Freshening up in the morning was one of the things that was sure to make him feel better going into the day. And he needed it today, especially.

He got dressed afterwards. He decided to forgo his uniform and wear something comfortable. A plain blue Altean shirt, and some sweatpants and sandals he'd managed to find in one of the rooms on the ship. He did make sure to strap his bayard holster to his leg though.

Once he was ready, he made his way to the kitchen. Coran was the only other one there this early.

"Mornin'," Lance called, fighting back a yawn as he took a plate out of the storage compartment.

"Lance! Good morning! Up bright an early I see. Off to see that Swanky fellow?"

How Coran was always so full of energy, Lance would never know. Hunk and Pidge thought he may be hiding something like coffee from them, but Lance's theory was Energizer batteries.

"Yeah," he responded with much less gusto, filling the plate with food goo from the dispenser. Then he shuffled over to another storage compartment, popped it open, and pulled out the chip-like snacks he had been munching on last night.

"Good luck!" Coran called after him as he shuffled away. "Give him the old what for!"

"What does that even _mean_ ," Lance said below his breath as he walked out and began his reluctant journey to the containment rooms.

As he walked, he recalled how he got pushed into doing this crap in the first place.

 

**\-- V --**

 

"You want me to _what!?_ "

"You heard her, Lance," Shiro said firmly.

"Why do _I_ have to be the one to bring him food?"

Shiro was about to speak, when Keith cut him off.

"I agree with, Lance. Why him?"

"You agree with Lance?" Hunk said incredulously.

" _Thank_ you, Keith! Why me?"

"Because," Allura explained, "He's obviously more open to interacting with you than the rest of us. He will be more likely to answer questions you ask of him, and we need to know just how much of a threat he is in order to decide what to do with him."

"By 'interacting' I assume you mean flirting. Let's be real here, you're sending Lance in to seduce information from him," Pidge said.

"Hey!" Lance retorted.

"Which would be a good plan if Lance had any skills in the field of seduction."

Lance sputtered indignantly while Shiro gave Pidge a stern look. She simply put up her hands, and then continued silently sipping on her juice pack.

"Why not just keep him locked up?" Keith suggested. "Why risk letting him go at all?"

"That's not how we operate Keith, you know that," Shiro replied. "Especially not if he's just some petty thief."

"Yeah, that hardly warrants a lifetime of imprisonment," Hunk said.

Keith hummed in what Lance assumed was agreement. Lance looked back at Allura, eyes pleading.

"Do I _have_ to?"

"Yes, Lance, you do. At least for now. If he doesn't start answering your questions soon, we'll send in someone else.

"You're our best shot at the moment, buddy," Hunk added.

Hearing that he was their best shot _did_ bring his mood up a bit. He liked it when the others depended on him for something.

"I'm _always_ your best shot, dude," Lance grinned as he mimed holding his blaster and shooting it at Hunk. "Alright, I'll do it, you've convinced me."

"Excellent!" Coran said, popping to the front of the group. "Here, I've already drawn up your time table."

Lance took one look at it and blanched. He didn't realize this job entailed waking up earlier and going to bed later. And he had to _stay_ with Swanky for an _hour?_ Each time he brought him food!?

"But...but...!"

"No worries!" Coran continued. "I've already re-assigned your chores to the others for those time slots."

 _'Okay, getting out of chores was a silver lining,'_ Lance thought.

"I did have to double you up on pod cleaning duty, though."

_'...Nevermind.'_

"Can I change my mi-"

"No," Shiro, Allura, Pidge, and Hunk said in unison.

"..."

 

**\-- V --**

 

And so, here he was, coming to a stop outside of Swanky's containment room door at the ass-crack of dawn - or whatever passed for dawn in the middle of space - with nothing but some somewhat stale goo chips to hold him over for the next hour. Instead of calling out to Swanky, Lance rapped his knuckles on the door.

"Didn't they ever tell you not to tap on the glass? Do not disturb," Swanky replied from where he was splayed across the floor. Lance noted that he was no longer speaking English. His lips were out of synch with the words he was hearing. Ah, the wonders of modern alien technology.

"Alright, starve then."

Lance hated that he got a bit excited when Swanky immediately propped himself up when he spoke.

"Well, well, hello there, handsome. Miss me?"

"Not a chance," Lance grumbled, repressing the small bit of heat he could feel trying to sneak onto his cheeks. "I'm here to ask questions, and give you this."

He pressed a few buttons on a panel below the hand scanner outside the door. A small opening appeared in the glass - Was this stuff even glass? Hell if he knew. - at the bottom of the doorway. He slid the plate of goo inside and the slot closed up a second later.

"Uh..." Swanky eyed the green goo dubiously, and with a hint of disgust. Lance noted that Swanky's ears turned down slightly as he leaned away from the goo, and he berated himself for the fleeting thought that it was sort of cute.

"Food goo. Bon appetit," Lance said, sitting down on the floor.

"Gee...Thanks..." Swanky said, not sounding very thankful. He made no move for the food goo. He did, however, look up at Lance mischievously. He began inching forward on his hands and knees, and Lance gulped despite himself. "You know, as... _appetizing_ as this stuff looks...I see something much tastier."

The blush was too strong for Lance to hold back at this point. It rose like fire on his cheeks as he watched Swanky reach the glass, getting into a kneeling position in front of Lance.

"Why don't you come in here, and I could eat you up?" Swanky said, voice low, and very obviously eyeing Lance's crotch.

Lance floundered for a solid five seconds. How was he supposed to react to that? How was _anyone_ supposed to react to that? Was this guy even real?

"How stupid do you think I am!? I'm not opening that door!" Lance finally managed to shriek out, crossing his legs and hugging his bag of goo chips in front of him like a shield.

Swanky's demeanor went from seductive to put out in record time.

"Meh, I tried," he said, flopping backwards onto the floor once again.

"That's it, I can _not_ do this. I'm leaving."

" _What?_ " Swanky said, bolting up again. "Do you know how boring it is in this shithole? And you're already leaving?"

"I'm not dealing with you anymore. I'll tell Keith or Shiro to take over, this isn't going to work."

"Anyone but them, they're stiff as boards!"

"Too bad, so sad," Lance said, picking himself up off the floor. He started off down the hallway, refusing to look back as Swanky rambled after him.

"Wait, wait! Shit, all I did was tease you a little. Your reactions are cute, so sue me. Lance, c'mon, man! At least give me some of those chip things!"

Lance flipped him off before turning around the corner and out of sight.

 

**\-- V --**

 

"Lance? Shouldn't you still be with Swanky?" Shiro asked as Lance stormed into the dining area. Everyone was there, having breakfast after waking up at a _normal_ time in the day. Lance's stomach grumbled, and he remembered all he'd had to eat was a few goo chips. He walked over to take his seat next to Keith and sighed.

"I can't do it. Shiro, can't you do this instead? You'd get answers out of him in no time."

"What happened? You okay?" Hunk asked him.

"He's just...! Ugh, I dunno. He rubs me the wrong way is all."

"If it's just something like that, you can put up with it for the sake of doing your job, Lance," Shiro said calmly but firmly. "But if it's something else, we need to know exactly what he did in order to adjust."

Lance blushed, and avoided eye contact with their leader. Hoo boy. How was he supposed to explain this to them without dying of embarrassment?

"He, uh, flirted with me..."

"What?" Keith said, sounded weirdly tense. Then again, Keith always sounded a bit tense, so he could just be overthinking it due to his embarrassment.

"Called it," Pidge said off-handedly.

"And that's it?" Shiro said, looking doubtful that some simple flirting was what got Lance all worked up.

"He...uh...well..."

The others waited silently for him to continue. He definitely wasn't getting out of explaining this. It was either explain things or have to go back there and face it all over again.

"Okay, I'll explain. Coran, cover the Princess' ears. Pidge, cover your own ears." Before he could lose his nerve, he took a deep breath and said the rest in a nearly-whispered rush. "He kind of lowkey offered to blow me, okay?"

Keith choked on his food, Shiro's eyebrows shot into his hairline, Hunk's jaw hit the table, Coran's mustache bristled as his hands remained firmly over Allura's ears, and Pidge hadn't even bothered covering hers.

"How could he even do that with those _teeth?"_ Pidge asked, sounding disgusted.

" _Really_ , Pidge!? I said cover your ears!" Lance shrieked, burying his face in his hands.

"That is...something," Shiro said, coughing into his hand. Wait, was he blushing? Oh my God, Lance was never going to live this moment down. He'd even made Shiro lose his cool. This was mortifying. "I could see why that may disturb you."

Lance just groaned into his hands and thunked his head down on the table. Yes, it had bothered him. A lot. But Lance didn't know if he could face any of them again if he explained that the reason he felt so bothered is because he was still - at least - physically attracted to Swanky.

He didn't like the guy. Of course not. After he'd been planning to steal from them? Had lied to them to get on board the ship? Had flirted with Lance to make him let his guard down? No. He definitely didn't like the guy. Was he attracted to him, though?

Yes.

Yes he was.

_'Dios mio, I'm such a mess.'_

"Ahem...Well, after hearing that," Shiro said, already recovering, "I agree it's best that you switch out with someone for now. Send the message that we won't tolerate that sort of harassment. Lance, you stay here and eat, I'll-"

"I'll go."

All eyes turned towards Keith. He looked determined to say the least. And angry. Why would _he_ be angry?

"Keith? Are you sure?" Shiro asked.

"I'll go," he repeated, standing up.

Shiro nodded, still looking a bit concerned.

"Alright then. Remember to stay calm, Keith. You're above any provocation he could throw at you."

Keith nodded back to Shiro, and then he was gone.

An awkward silence rang through-out the dining hall until Allura cleared her throat.

"Coran...could you please let go of my ears now?"

"Whoops! Sorry, Princess."

"It's not like it did much good anyways...I, ah, heard it all."

Coran looked like he was about to have a heart attack, and Lance let his head thunk down on the table for the second time that morning.

Yep.

He definitely wasn't ever going to live this down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was kind of short. The next one will be too, since it's just a brief glimpse at what Keith is gonna be doing. After that it's a loooong Lance chapter though! Stay tuned!


	4. Keith

Keith stormed through the halls of the ship with renewed purpose. There was no way - _no fucking way_ \- he was going to let that...that asshole, do this to Lance. He could already see Swanky digging under Lance's skin, messing with his head, _using him._ And he was angry about it. Of course he was! Lance didn't deserve that kind of treatment.

He planted his feet solidly outside of the containment room, glaring angrily at the figure on the floor. Seriously, there was a bed _right there-_

Keith breathed in. Breathed out. He remembered Shiro's words. He had to stay calm. Focus. He was just here to deliver a message. Maybe get a few answers. He had to keep his emotions in check...that always proved difficult when Lance was involved, though. He just had to hope for the best. Be more careful.

"Hey, you in the cell. I've got something to tell you."

"Oh no, not you," Swanky groaned. Keith's nostrils flared.

Deep breaths. Deep breaths.

"Yes, me. What, you expected Lance to come back after what you did to him? Are you an idiot?"

"Dunno, you tell me. Doesn't it take one to know one?"

"You-!" _Deep breaths._ "Look, I came here to tell you to back off, got it? Lance doesn't appreciate the sexual harassment. And we aren't gonna sit back and tolerate that kind of beha-"

"Did you ask him? If he appreciated it or not?"

"I don't have to. I know Lance. He's the one that complained to us about what you said."

"Complained? Sure he wasn't just venting?" Swanky said, finally stretching and picking himself off the floor, yawning as he stood up.

"What's the difference?"

"I thought you said you knew the guy?"

"I'm not in the mood to play along with you. Are you going to stop harassing him or not?"

Swanky smirked, walking towards the glass slowly.

"See, if he was _complaining_ about my - what was it you said? - sexual harassment, he would've complained about all of it. Told you guys everything I've done." Swanky stopped at the glass, staring down at Keith smugly. "If he was venting, it just means I pushed it a bit too far. He's a sensitive lil' guy is all. Doesn't mean I don't still have a chance."

Keith stood there, nostrils flaring, deep breathing having left his mind a few sentences back. He glared up at Swanky, wondering just how one person could be so infuriating.

"What are you even talking abo-"

"Ah, just venting then. You look curious, so I'll be nice and tell you what he didn't. Last night I had him pinned against a wall. He was a blushing mess, but he was hardly complaining then."

Keith slammed his fist against the doorway, watching as a ripple of energy went through it as it absorbed his blow.

"Oh, _feisty._ "

"You stay away from Lance, got it?" Keith growled. "You're a dangerous, low-down, lying thief. You may want to use him and manipulate him and make him think you like him just cause you want out of here, but I'm not gonna let you treat him like that."

As Keith spoke, he saw Swanky's easy-going grin slowly slip into a scowl. Swanky got as close to the doorway as he could, glaring down at Keith as Keith glared back up at him.

"Listen here, shithead. I may be a dangerous, low-down, lying thief, but if there's one thing I hate it's being accused of shit I didn't fucking do. Who the hell said I was manipulating him?"

"What else would a criminal like you want with him?"

"Man, if this is how you usually treat the poor dude, no wonder you don't get along."

That threw Keith for a loop. He didn't get what Swanky was trying to say.

"What do _you_ know?"

"I don't have to know shit. You just threw him under the damn bus. Now, throwin' me under the bus, while fucking unappreciated, is understandable. But aren't you guys supposed to be teammates? Friends? But you just implied he's a weak link that a _criminal like me_ would only be interested in to manipulate or some shit. That's pretty fucked. You got that little faith in him?"

"I...I didn't..."

The words acted like a slap in the face to Keith. He remembered Lance's words from last night.

_"Yikes. That little faith in me, huh?"_

He thought back on what he'd said to Swanky. He definitely didn't mean it like that...but that _was_ what his words seemed to be implying, wasn't it? And last night, had his words to Lance had the same implications?

He wasn't sure how to feel. At all. His interaction with Swanky had been a rollercoaster from start to finish, and he was left feeling dizzy, his emotions swirling every which-way. He'd come in hot. Defensive, and angry, and...and _jealous_. And Swanky had picked up on that and fed into it, wanting to get under Keith's skin. Keith assumed it was because Swanky just didn't like him. What could he even say, really? The feeling was mutual, but while Swanky was some random alien with no responsibilities, Keith had been the one to let it affect his duties as a paladin. This was supposed to have been a firm but civil interaction, and he'd let it spiral into what could only be described as a total mess.

And then it was as if Swanky had dumped ice water on him. He'd gone from hot to fizzling, sputtering. Thoroughly _doused_ because - of all people - _Swanky_ had pointed out a fault in his behavior. Which was infuriating. And humiliating. And scary. Just how often did Keith misword things that a total stranger had picked up on it within twenty-four hours? Because that's what they were. Miswordings. He'd never actually think so lowly of Lance. There was no way he ever could. Not now that they were closer, and he'd seen more of him. But he wasn't so blinded by jealousy and distrust that he couldn't see the truth when it hit him in the face...Swanky had hit the nail on the head. That was probably why he was so abrasive. He just kept hitting nails, no hesitation, no remorse. Keith usually would've appreciated the honesty, but he didn't even _know_ this guy. Plus, it kind of sucked being the nail.

Of course he still didn't trust what Swanky said, regardless. Swanky was observant. Fine. Keith was still jealous. Fine. They just didn't get along, really. Fine! But all that aside, he was also crude, a liar, a thief, and a complete mystery. They had no idea how he'd found them. If he was working for Zarkon or not. If he had some other goal he was hiding. He was a wild card. He was dangerous. He was...walking away from him? Keith blinked out of his introspection to see Swanky turning his back on him and walking back to his spot on the floor.

"Where are you-"

"Listen, I don't have time to play therapist for you two. I want no damn part in this drama. I'm not here to get attached to people, got it? I don't want to _be_ with Lance, so chill. He's cute, and I flirted with him. I flirt with cute people. What a concept. Pretty sure Lance and I were on the same page with all that, what with me being a random dude you lot picked up in space."

"And who says I believe you?" Keith replied, reflexively confrontational.

"I told you, I don't like being accused of shit I didn't do," Swanky said, laying back down on the floor.

"Yeah, well tough, since I'm not believing anything you say until you've answered all the questions we have for you."

"Yeah? Well _tough_ to you too, cause I'm not answering jack shit for _you_."

"Excuse me?" Keith asked indignantly. "Hey, we're not finished!"

"Yeah, we are," Swanky said, laying down.

Keith finally remembered that thing about deep breathing. He gathered all his swirling emotions and tampered them down as best he could to try and do his part.

"Look, you either answer the questions we have for you about who you are, who you're working for, what you want...or you stay in here. We can't let you out otherwise, got it?"

"Guess I'm not getting out of here until they send someone else then, huh?" Swanky said.

 

**\-- V --**

 

Swanky had refused to look or speak to Keith after that. He'd been forced to return, with even worse results than Lance.

"Keith, I expected better from you," Shiro said. It hurt to hear the disappointment in his voice. "I know you. I know you know better."

"Sorry, Shiro.

"Don't apologize. I can see you already know where you went wrong. Reflect on it, okay? Don't let it happen again."

Keith nodded as Shiro briefly patted his shoulder, then turned away from him to address everyone.

"The princess and I will think about who's best to send in next time. We'll meet back here to discuss it more together at lunch. For now, report to Coran to see what needs doing around the ship."

 

**\-- V --**

 

Keith ended up being put with Lance to clean pods. They hadn't been alone together since last night outside their rooms, and Keith could feel the heaviness in the air. He wondered if it was just him. He couldn't shake what Swanky had said to him, no matter how many times he scrubbed at the same spot. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore. He finished his pod, and walked over to where Lance was to help him with his. Lance looked a bit wary, but didn't say anything. After a minute of thinking about what he should say, Keith spoke up.

"I want you to know I'm sorry."

"You're what now?" Lance asked, sounding shocked.

"Last night, the question I asked about what you were doing with Swanky...I didn't mean it to come out like...like I was accusing you. Or didn't trust you."

"Then why ask it?" Lance said quietly, bitterness suddenly so evident in his tone that Keith was taken aback. He felt a sting of guilt in his chest.

 _'Because I was jealous,'_ Keith thought honestly.

"Because I was worried," he said a half-truth instead. "When I shouldn't have been. Once you found out his intentions, you got everything under control. I shouldn't have let my distrust of Swanky translate into distrust for you."

Lance stopped scrubbing. Keith risked a glance at him. He looked flustered, but mainly just confused.

"What happened to make you say all this?"

"...I can't just say sorry of my own free will?"

"It's not that. It's just you usually don't think much about what you say. No offense."

"Gee. None taken."

"But now suddenly you seem to have though about it a lot. Why?"

"What if I don't want to tell you?"

"There you go not thinking again. Not cool dude. I mean...we _are_ friends...right?" Lance said tentatively. It was the first time Keith had actually heard Lance call him his friend. It was awkward, and a bit hesitant, but sincere.

Keith caved.

"Yeah. Yeah, I know.."

"Then? Be honest. Something must've happened to make you think so hard about it."

"It was Swanky, unfortunately."

"Ha. Ha. Fine, you don't wanna tell me then. Be that way, jerk," Lance said, going back to scrubbing with a grumpy pout.

"I was, uh, being serious."

"Uh-huh. Sure. You're telling me that Swanky - the crude dude we currently have locked up, that you hate, that we met like yesterday - said something that made you rethink how you say things sometimes after, I dunno, a lifetime of not really thinking too much about it?"

Keith felt a burning in his cheeks. He wanted to tell Lance that the main reason he had reconsidered his actions wasn't because of what Swanky himself had said, but because of how he realized it affected someone he cared about. Namely, Lance the one currently giving him a dubious look to end all other dubious looks. But he couldn't tell him that, exactly. So he rephrased it.

"Like I said. I was worried. I ended up asking him why he was after you. I...asked something similar to what I asked you, I guess. He threw it back in my face. He pointed out that what I'd said made it seem like I was looking down on you."

"...Wait, holy shit, you're actually being serious."

"What was your first clue, Sherlock?" Keith grumbled, going back to scrubbing the pod to avoid eye contact with Lance. He felt the humiliation from his earlier talk with Swanky renew itself.

"Why would he do that?"

"Do what?"

"Defend me like that?"

"It's more like he was defending himself, really."

"Oh," Lance said. Keith told himself that the hint of disappointment in his voice was something else. "What'd you say to make him say that in defense then?"

"I accused him of being a dangerous, low-down, lying thief-"

" _Damn_ , I mean, true, but _damn."_

"- who was only flirting to manipulate you. He said he didn't like being accused of things he didn't do. Then he pointed out that the way I said it implied I thought you could be easily manipulated, which was shitty."

"But he did try to steal from us, he literally can't deny that?"

"No, he was denying the manipulating thing."

"...And only that?"

"Yeah?" Keith posed it as more of a question, not really seeing where Lance was going with this anymore.

"Oh," Lance said simply, finally going back to scrubbing even though Keith had already almost finished. It wasn't the same "oh" as before. It sounded more confused than anything. Conflicted even. Weird.

Keith forgot about it until later, when they were all gathered again.

"Paladins," Allura addressed them, "Shiro and I have discussed the matter, and we believe it would be best to send him or Hunk in next. Are there any other ideas or opinions you would like to share about this?"

"I'll do it."

Everyone's eyes turned to Lance. Keith stared at him, mouth slightly agape in shock.

"Dude, why would you even-" Hunk said, looking at Lance like he'd sprouted a second head.

"Like Allura first said, I'm the one he responds to the most. We already saw what it was like sending in someone else. No offense Keith, but you did even worse than I did."

Keith continued staring at Lance incredulously.

"Lance, are you sure?" Shiro asked, sounding both confused and concerned. "If he starts harassing you again-"

"I was just...shocked the first time. I overreacted." Lance said. "I mean, come on, he's stuck in that room, he can hardly actually do anything to me. If it happens again, I'll be prepared. I'll be focused on getting those answers. Anything else will be like water on a chicken's back."

"The phrase is a _duck's_ back, Lance," Pidge whispered loudly, ever infuriated by Lance's slightly incorrect idioms.

"Whatever. The point is, I promise, I'll get the answers we need. Trust me."

Lance's voice held weight to it, so they all knew he wasn't kidding. Allura and Shiro looked at each other, then back at Lance.

"Alright," Shiro said, making Lance's face light up and Keith turn his incredulous gaze on him instead. "But be careful."

"Shiro, you da man, I won't let ya down!" Lance said, already scrambling to fill up a plate with food goo to take to Swanky. Before Keith could properly gather himself, the whole discussion was over and Lance was zooming out the door.

It was then that he remembered their talk from earlier. That last, conflicted 'Oh.'

The one who was responsible for inspiring Lance with the idiotic idea of re-visiting Swanky was none other than him. Keith. The Misworded Wonder.

Keith thunked his head to the table, and heard a small gasp from next to him.

"Oh no. Lance has infected you with his mannerisms," she said in mock horror. "They're _contagious._ Am I next? Hunk, if I nyah, punch me."

"What? No, we're friends."

"Why are you like this," Keith grumbled into the surface of the table.

He wasn't sure who he was talking to. Pidge, or himself.

 

**\-- V --**

 

An hour later, they were all gathered up again, waiting for Lance to come back and share any information he may have gotten. He returned a bit sooner than expected, and he had a grim expression on his face. Keith assumed that it meant he didn't get anything. Then Lance looked at all of them, and took a deep breath before speaking.

"He learned English on one of Zarkon's ships."

There was a stunned silence, broken only by the sound of Pidge's chair clattering backwards as she stood up. Her eyes were wide, almost frantic with a spark of hope.

"From who?" she asked quietly, the words ringing loudly in the silence.

"There was only one person, Pidge," Lance replied somberly.

_"From who?"_

"Matt," Lance answered her. He looked around the room again, the shock all of them were feeling reflected in his eyes. "It was Matt."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope people are picking up in the fact that, while Swanky is confrontational and crude, he's the Realest™ tbh. He just doesn't beat around the bush and does what he wants and likes messing with people, especially if they're rude to him. His philosophy isn't "treat others how you want to be treated" it's "treat others how they treat you, but remember You Da Best." He's definitely not a turn the other cheek kinda guy is what I'm saying. And as always, if you want to know more about his personality, I recommend checking out y-annah's Swanky tag (since he's their Voltron OC) or even sending her an ask about him!
> 
> Note, also, that this is the chapter when things are going to really start deviating from any canon possibility, because of the whole reveal at the end there.
> 
> Anyways, this was another short chapter. The next one is going to be very long, since it contains a shit ton of smaller scenes. As such, it may not be out right away, but I'll keep you all updated in the OIYWMT tag on my Tumblr!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! If you liked the fic, please leave kudos or comments!  
> If you have any questions, just send me an ask on my Tumblr, [lionbots!](http://lionbots.tumblr.com)


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